Wake Up Dead Man

TIFF REVIEW: BY DARREN ZAKUS

September 9, 2025

5 OUT OF 5 STARS

Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery is another masterful whodunnit from Rian Johnson featuring everything that fans have come to love about this series; outstanding performances, intelligent writing, hilarious moments, and shocking twists and turns, cementing Knives Out as one of the best movie series of the past decade.

Back in 2019, writer and director Rian Johnson struck gold with the whodunnit murder mystery Knives Out, updating the beloved genre for the modern era. Armed with an all star cast led by Daniel Craig as revered private detective Benoit Blanc, a fun American joke on the classic Agatha Christie character Hercule Poirot, Johnson launched an original movie series that both paid homage to the most iconic works of the genre while infusing it with a chaotic modern energy, ensuring that there was no shortage of excitement, thrills and laughter. Once again returning to the Toronto International Film Festival to premiere the latest film in the series, Johnson and Craig take audiences back to the tones of the earliest works of the whodunnit genre with a more gothic tale focused on religion and the inherent clash between faith and logic, and it is without question the darkest and most thrilling Benoit Blanc mystery to date. Assembling an exceptional ensemble cast featuring Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close, Josh Brolin, Jeremy Renner, Kerry Washington, Thomas Haden Church, Daryl McCormack, Andrew Scott, Cailee Spaeny and Mila Kunis, Johnson once again delivers a highly intelligent mystery and hilarious film that while tonally different than anything else seen in the Knives Out series to date, is every bit as brilliant as its predecessors.

The genius of Johnson’s Knives Out series lies in his writing, which not only is highly intelligent and character driven that creates wildly entertaining murder mysteries, but his innate understanding of what makes this genre a timeless classic. As with the first two films, Johnson spins an engaging mystery surrounding the victim’s death as Benoit Blanc pieces together the larger mystery from every piece of information revealed to him by the suspects and from examining the scene of the crime. The dialogue is packed with wit, laugh out loud moments and explosive reveals that creates a riveting narrative full of shady characters each with their own motive and personal gain from committing the crime, but one that keeps the true identity and motive of the killer shrouded in darkness until the opportune moment to reveal them. This allows a character driven story to unfold that is full of misdirects, shocking developments and great character moments that builds to its grand finale in which Johnson perfectly pulls the rug out from under the audience as Blanc solves the case with an explanation and motive that works with every piece of information that had been disclosed to them, that only needed to be properly distilled to reveal the killer’s identity.

Though, the strength in the writing lies in the changing tones of the films in this series. Returning to the genre’s roots in the writings of Edgar Allen Poe, Johnson brings an undeniable gothic tone to Wake Up Dead Man that is a stark departure from the tones of the previous two films. With the murder being set in a church, the religious undertones to the story are prevalent and creates the most disturbing murder yet as the lines between a deadly criminal act and unexplainable miraculous events that rely on faith blur, suspending logical reasoning and creating a dilemma for Blanc. This allows for the richest narrative for Blanc to grapple with compared to the previous films, especially in the film’s final act when all is revealed, leading to the most impactful and emotional ending of any of the films in the series with the change in the audience’s expectation based on what Blanc has learnt over the course of the film.

As with any of the Knives Out films, the cast is stacked with some of the biggest names in the industry, all of whom deliver excellent performances. Craig once again returns as Blanc, bringing to life his now iconic sleuth in all his humorous glory, while doing more soul searching as he grapples with the crisis of faith that this investigation causes for Blanc. Taking on the main role of Blanc’s access point into the cast of potential suspects is Josh O’Connor’s Reverend Jud Duplenticy, the young priest who finds himself the prime suspect in the murder investigation. O’Connor is outstanding as he matches the rest of the cast’s comedic timing, while helping to create an emotional undercurrent for the film as this new priest with a troubled past grappling with his own personal crisis as he questions his own innocence in the crime and proclivity to commit such a heinous and pre-meditated act of violence. His compassion and steadfast faith helps anchor the film, while making the rest of the characters seem far more suspicious, dangerous and wild, leading to some great comedic moments across the ensemble cast.

As for some of the most memorable performances of the supporting cast, Kerry Washington has some biting moments as Vera Draven that are bound to generate big laughter and applause as one of the most cutthroat suspects of Blanc’s latest case, Josh Brolin is bringing all the masculine toxicity to Monsignor Jefferson Wicks, a dangerously persuasive priest with his own eccentricities, while seeing Jeremy Renner back on the big screen after his accent not missing a beat after his accident was a delight. But the standout of the new ensemble cast, to no one’s surprise, is Glenn Close as Martha Delacroix, a devout member of Wicks’ congregation. Johnson’s script gives Close some of the most wicked lines and moments that are bound to generate big laughter with a nastiness that only Close could generate, but also one incredible sequence that could very well land her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress which Close brilliantly delivers, confirming her status of one of the best actors of her generation.

While the film showcases impeccable writing and performances, they are all supported by an equally excellent production. Steve Yedlin helps to deliver the most visually striking Knives Out film to date with some miraculous shots using the light beaming through the stained glass windows of the church and mysterious moments using shadows to hide the character’s darker intent, creating a film that is as visually exciting as the story while amplifying the themes of faith to ensure that this element of the story is never lost within Blanc’s investigation. The set design is great, making the most of this limited location film with immersive sets for the characters to truly come to life in, while also creating a claustrophobic atmosphere for the film that traps the killer just within Blanc’s reach. And returning for his third Knives Out film is Nathan Johnson, once again composing the film’s score, creating unique themes to this third entry in the series that enrich the thematic clashing of faith and logic in the most harmonious way imaginable.

Continuing the gold standard set by his previous two films, Rian Johnson once again delivers a riveting and wildly entertaining whodunnit for the legendary Benoit Blanc to solve that is among year’s best films. Matching the gold standard of the previous two films, Rian Johnson and his team have crafted a quickly paced, witty, thrilling, and above all else, thoroughly entertaining mystery that allows this phenomenal cast with memorable performances from Daniel Craig, Josh O’Connor, Glenn Close and many more to shine from start to finish. But most importantly, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery confirms that Rian Johnson is not taking the easy way out and merely repeating the previous films in the series, but instead delivering a fresh and exciting entry in the Knives Out series that needs to continue for multiple more entries. Conjuring up a masterful whodunnit in every frame of the film, Rian Johnson confirms himself the modern master of the whodunnit genre with Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery as he weaves the most thematically rich entry in the Knives Out series to date exploring faith, logic, and religion within the context of a shocking murder that is only enhanced by the stellar ensemble cast featuring a scene stealing Glenn Close, an outstanding screenplay and all the excitement and shocking reveals of this beloved genre!